Game 19 preview: Lightning at Rangers

The Lightning come to town for their third and final game against the Rangers, having dropped the previous two contests 3-2 and 5-1. This is where we would say something about how the Rangers own the Southeast, but they just dropped a game against Winnipeg with their B roster.

As stated in our previous previews, Guy Boucher has the Lightning running a 1-3-1 forecheck, which can be an aggressive forecheck or a neutral zone trap depending on the puck’s location, the score, how much time is left on the clock, etc. Tampa also utilizes a 1-3-1 power play, which creates four triangles to pass around and take one-timer shots. This system forces the defense to focus on the middle players causing the PK to miss coverages. When they’re on, it’s a deadly powerplay.

Still, the Rangers showed everyone that when they play their game on their terms, they can beat anyone. They shows some signs of life in Tuesday’s loss, so let’s hope that was the turning point for this club.